Rough Start, Day 0, Camino de Santiago, LAX to Madrid

My euphoria over the success of #Camino2Kenya2015 campaign came crashing down at the gate 46B at LAX. I fell asleep mid-text and awoke to watch my plane pulling back from the tarmac. Panicked calls to reschedule met with overbooked flights and a $4,300 change fee and a cancellation of all my connecting flights since I missed the first leg. The weight of letting down so many people because of my error was crushing. The stress and fear of what I had ahead of me didn’t matter anymore because I wasn’t going.

I did what I do when I’m utterly lost and alone. I sobbed. I sobbed right in the middle of LAX with harried travelers pushing me aside to get to their flights that they didn’t miss due to crushing fatigue.

All I wanted was to go home and crawl in bed and hide. I wanted to be back with my Australian Sheppard who always loves me no matter how I mess up.

Of course you know it worked out. I cried my way onto a sold out flight and met my connection to Madrid. I sobbed into the arms of the attendant when she handed my the boarding pass.

I’ll get to the commence the Camino de Santiago as planned, but the first step of that journey began this morning. I will not be letting down all the donors that are supporting young students in Kenya. I will not let the students down who are filling out applications for the educational grants C2CKenya can provide now that #Camino2Kenya2015 was a success.

But I came close to failing and it left me feeling raw and vulnerable. And maybe that is the way one is supposed to feel at the beginning of a 500 mile solo journey.

I’m dedicating each day of my hike to a child of C2CKenya. The first day is dedicated to Rosemary who wrote me the letter from Saudi Arabia which kick-started the idea that C2CKenya must increase the opportunities of education to the young and vulnerable children so they don’t have to find themselves as housemaids in Saudi Arabia. Rosemary now has an opportunity to complete technical college and change the trajectory of her life because of the donors who supported #Camino2Kenya2015. Thank you!